Hat 102

I have carried a bomber style hat for years, Gore-Tex shell and fake red fur that was both warm and comfortable. This was my go to hat for extreme cold. I lost it and now I need a new hat. There is a lot of hardcore hikers out here, what do you use? I've been to Ragged Mtn, EMS, IME and have struck out everywhere. I am starting an on-line search but if someone can recommend what they use, it would help. I have a balaclava and a beanie, I need an expedition proof hat. TY.

I thought at first you were labeling yours and had reached number 102, figuring you must have a collection like mine.

A couple of suggestions from the hooks here at home:

Stormy Kromer Rancher Cap, for when you don't expect actual arctic conditions and you want to preserve your social reputation at least a little.

Filson Double Mackinaw Cap, for when you expect actual arctic conditions and you don't give a rat's ass about your social reputation. (You don't have to choose the plaid if you don't want it! The green is less conspicuous.) Bring extra water for the sweating at subzero temps ...

Outdoor Research used to make a terrific hat for a range of conditions, the B-17 Bomber Cap, which I've used for more than ten years. It's warmer than their current Rando Cap. Sadly, they discontinued it for reasons that pass all understanding – if you find one, grab it and hold on tight. You might consider their Frostline Hat, which I have not actually seen: Frostline Hat

sardog1 said:

I thought at first you were labeling yours and had reached number 102, figuring you must have a collection like mine.

A couple of suggestions from the hooks here at home:

Stormy Kromer Rancher Cap, for when you don't expect actual arctic conditions and you want to preserve your social reputation at least a little.

Filson Double Mackinaw Cap, for when you expect actual arctic conditions and you don't give a rat's ass about your social reputation. (You don't have to choose the plaid if you don't want it! The green is less conspicuous.) Bring extra water for the sweating at subzero temps ...

Outdoor Research used to make a terrific hat for a range of conditions, the B-17 Bomber Cap, which I've used for more than ten years. It's warmer than their current Rando Cap. Sadly, they discontinued it for reasons that pass all understanding – if you find one, grab it and hold on tight. You might consider their Frostline Hat, which I have not actually seen: Frostline Hat

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I just looked at that Frostline and I like it, I trust OR and that might be the one for me. The other two you suggested would be great if I was a hick from Maine.

Like many other items, I dress in hat layers if need be. A balaclava is good because it is almost impossible for it to blow off your head. 2 face masks, one fabric, and 1 goggle style, complete the 'look'.

I still have an OR Peruvian-style made with Windproof fleece, but it's not made anymore and I rarely use it anyway. Instead, like Tom Rankin, I carry 2 wool hats of different warmths, a light balaclava (plus a heavier one when it's really cold), and a fleece neck gaiter. In combination, they provide lots of flexibility and moderate pack weight.

Cabela's used to offer a good selection of winter hats, but alas, most of their cold weather hats are designed to be used while killing someone/something.

sierra said:

I just looked at that Frostline and I like it, I trust OR and that might be the one for me. The other two you suggested would be great if I was a hick from Maine.

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Or a hipster from Boulder. The Stormy Kromer brand has taken off out West in a manner reminiscent of PBR among Millennials, but with far more practical justification.

I got a Mad Bomber from Labonville a few years ago. Got it on sale for around $12. Super warm.

When the going gets cold, I use a Ragg Wool Balaclava. If that's not warm enough, I just put the hood of whichever shell I'm wearing over it.

I've used navy watch caps and balaclavas (wool or fleece) and for many years. I have both lightweight (Smartwool: http://www.rei.com/product/738915/smartwool-cuffed-beanie http://www.rei.com/product/784560/smartwool-balaclava) and heavyweight versions of both.

In general, I find the windproof versions (with the exception of a windproof balaclava to be used with a facemask in cold high winds) to be too hot and sweaty.

Doug

My favorite hat of all time is the Ibex Meru wool beanie. I love it so much, I have three of them. They are perfect under a cycling helmet, and great for any outdoor activity where I am highly aerobic. It layers well with a balaclava or under my shell hood. I won my first one in a bicycle race in 2005 and 8 years and 100s of washings (but never in the drier!) it looks and wears like the day I got it.

I also have, but almost never wear, except in extreme conditions, a Mountain Hardwear Dome Perignon.

Tim

Thanks all great suggestions, I do use two balaclavas, one silk weight, one mid weight and in most cases that combo or a beanie is all I need. Im ordering the Frostline from OR, I like the bomber style and that hat is just what Ive been looking for. Sardog1 gets the golden piton award for the suggestion.

I layer a fleece headband, wool watch cap (from seafaring days in the Arctic) and the hood on my outer layer, as necessary. It always amazes me how much that hood does to keep my head warm.

jfb said:

When the going gets cold, I use a Ragg Wool Balaclava. If that's not warm enough, I just put the hood of whichever shell I'm wearing over it.

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+1. The addition of the polypropylene lining was a great improvement on the original (both of which I have).

I have used the same windblock polar tech midweight hat for years..kind of a signature thing so I know where you are coming from when you lost your old friend. For the real cold days I also have a thin and thick balaclava and a back up arcteryk beanie. I have a dome perignon as well but it too warm for most hiking .

Mountain Hardware compressor dome hat <-- favorite hat ever

No one hat is everything for every occasion, but I love love love this thing -- super warm for its weight, packs extremely small, very quick drying ... has a kind of a bulbhead dork look to it, but it sure does the job.

good thread. that frosty Kreamer brand is unknown to me and its pretty cool.

For hiking I use a combination of Patagonia Neck Gaiter that I wear either on my neck or my head or shoulder strap
Second I wear Wool Buff as a thinner layer and / or in combination with the neck gaiter. Third I have a wool hat from Ibex and of course a hood of my jacket.

with these three I can have a complete protection.with the buff as a facemask and they are easily interchangeable.

For winter camping hat I would recommend the Black Rock Down Beanie

sierra said:

I have carried a bomber style hat for years, Gore-Tex shell and fake red fur that was both warm and comfortable. This was my go to hat for extreme cold. I lost it and now I need a new hat. There is a lot of hardcore hikers out here, what do you use? I've been to Ragged Mtn, EMS, IME and have struck out everywhere. I am starting an on-line search but if someone can recommend what they use, it would help. I have a balaclava and a beanie, I need an expedition proof hat. TY.

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For me, hats depend on activity and in none of them, do I use a super-duper warm hat.

For lift served skiing, I use a thick wool ski hat. I knit my own. Goggles go over the hat and a wool scarf goes around the neck. Here's one I made my wife on account of our chocolate lab.


For winter hiking/backcountry skiing, I either use a light weight wool ski hat (thinner yarn) or a red-plaid baseball style hunting hat. You all can laugh, but the hunting hat is incredibly functional. Fold down ear flaps. Makes my kids (and poor wife) howl with disgust though...

304 by Pinnah, on Flickr

For winter camping, I carry a fleece balaclava and wear that over the wool hat and under the thick Primaloft hood on my big Belay jacket. I don't think I've ever been in cold and thought I needed something more than wool hat/balaclava/hood.

I use the hat described by Kevin Rooney, namely the Outdoors Research Peruvian Windstopper Fleece Hat. It is still available (for example, from Altrec) but I'd like go point out that there are two styles of Peruvian hat from OR. One model has a dome-shaped top, that fits your head like a balaclava, whereas the other has a central ridge that forms a peak.

The dome-shaped one is what I own and is shown in this video. What the video fails to demonstrate is that the ear-flaps can be folded up and then the hat transforms from balaclava-like coverage to simply beanie-like (or "tuque" as we say in Quebec). I'm wearing it like a tuque in this photo.

The Windstopper fleece meets my requirements for a single, all-purpose winter hat: insulates, breathes, is soft, slightly stretchy, and blocks out wind (something traditional fleece and wool fail to do). The material is quite water-resistant as well (snow melting on my head doesn't soak through).

When the ear-flaps are left to dangle they give you a hound-dog look. It's a change from everyone else wearing balaclavas and looking like seals.

I carry an inexpensive fleece balaclava as a backup and for scary-cold days (I've rarely worn it) and as a "bag" for goggles. When the weather turns foul, I just don my jacket's hood (as seen in my avatar).

I'd bet that the Dachstein wool ski caps here: http://sweatersinternational.com/ would be a pretty warm hat. If they're felted (boiled) wool--you could call or email to find out--then it would do a pretty good job of block the wind.

I rather doubt those hats are felted.

I did a single felted/fulled hat for a friend and they're dang hard to control the fit on. The issue is that knit wool looses it's stretch when it is fulled. It's not a problem with mitts but with a hat, the fit has to be spot on, or you have to form it to fit just the right size head form, as with felted (brimed) hats.

The 2 ways for adding warmth of knit hats that I know of are: a) to use multi-strands, as is the case with classic Nordic or "Faire-Isle" style knitting (the extra yarn of the pattern creates a double layer of wool, essentially) or b) use thicker wool as in the Finnish or Peruvian style hats.